


Everything Was Beautiful

by ReturnToZero



Series: Oumasai Week 2k18 [2]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: I don't even know what to call this AU, I guess Darkest Dungeon Au, Implied Sexual Themes, M/M, Oumasai Day 2 prompt, Saiouma-centric, Shuichi POV, and one very bad thought from Shumai, not really though imo, nothing explicit though, sort of angsty?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 16:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14981357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReturnToZero/pseuds/ReturnToZero
Summary: He knew he couldn’t categorize this as love or hate or any type of normal relationship, but he couldn’t help but find it beautiful. Everything about him was, really. Kokichi Ouma was a beautiful person, and he was at least thankful that he could have him, even if that was in the lightest sense of the word.





	Everything Was Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 (Tuesday June 19th) - Love / Hate

Shuichi wakes up without any reason, rubbing his eyes as he slowly begins to sit up in bed. He rubs all the graininess out of them and sighs when he hears shuffling beside him. Shuichi doesn’t say anything, instead opting to look towards the window as his companion dresses.

 

Well, maybe companion was the wrong word.

  
  
It was hard to say what they were exactly. It was easier to list what they weren’t though, based on their agreement.   
  


****__  
**_Kokichi Ouma was not his lover._ ** ****__  
****__  
**_Kokichi Ouma was not his friend._ ** ****__  
****__  
**_Kokichi Ouma was not a whore._ **   
  


  
Shuichi glances over at the strange man in his room, his eyes raking over the scars all over his body, most likely earned from embarking on many quests for heirlooms and gold. His skin is still just as pasty as ever, then again maybe that is a good thing since it means he has yet to have a corruption of the body.    
  


__  
_ They lie together because they understand one another. _ __  
_  
_ __ They lie together because they need the comfort.

_ They lie together because they can keep each other sane. _

  
  


As adventurers, it was difficult for them to keep their humanity and sanity. The creatures they fought were not just the run of the mill bandits or occultists, they also had seen into the void- and it stares back with just as much force. Horrorterrors and ancient evils that he dares not name again, they have seen them all. They would see them again, as their greed and self-interests require them to take the good with the bad.   


 

This was the same.

  
  
Because as much as they find themselves in this same room together, horizontal and as one like they were always one being- they can never secure this. It’s only a little slice of euphoria that slips through his hands like sand. No, more like each one was a grain of sand that he collected into his hourglass, an hourglass that was already so empty. It was a temporary arrangement, so they both needed to keep their distance if they ever wanted to maintain themselves.

 

Yet he can’t help but watch Kokichi get dressed, covering his lithe and bony body with layers and layers of grungy clothes. His armor goes on next, and he starts filling his pockets with supplies. Kokichi doesn’t even look at him as he collects himself.

 

“Hey, trade me some salve for emeralds, yeah?” Comes the level voice, very professional and not sounding anything like the begging from last night.

 

Shuichi is taken aback, but nods dumbly, hating how his face heats up in embarrassment, he both loves and hates his mind for supplying such thoughts. “Sure, sure.”

  
  
This forces him to move across the bed, he’s still much too achy and tired from the last embarking to rise to his feet, but he manages to fish out all the salve he has from his knapsack. Shuichi dully notes that Kokichi’s side has gotten cold since his absence. It makes sense, but he wonders if he’ll ever get used to it. There will probably come a day where Kokichi never comes back, for whatever reason. Then his bed would be permanently cold.

 

_ Could he handle that? _

 

Kokichi looks at the salve in his hand, and out of the 6 dishes he takes three, handing off seven small emeralds in exchange. For once Kokichi didn’t put on his gloves, so their skin brushes against each other. 

  
  
Shuichi wants to laugh, Kokichi’s hands are still rough, despite all his claims about his hands being softer than anyone else’s. Then again it’s true, he does have delicate hands for an adventurer. His hands must feel like sandpaper against Kokichi-

  
  
Their eyes meet for a moment and it makes him uncomfortable. He’s never liked the confrontation, especially since he knows he’s an abomination of this planet, a siren human hybrid that paranoid and a ruins maniac. He’s just glad that he can hide his true form well enough that it isn’t noticeable at all. Well, at least until he is forced to transform for fights. Then he prays that his form doesn’t affect his companions, as he is well aware of what kind of abomination he is.

  
  
It doesn’t help that Kokichi’s face is riddled with scars, to the point where he is forced to wear a mask if he ever wishes to be in public. Shuichi doesn’t mind it, but he knows Kokichi is very aware of the kinds of looks he gets, of the sheer cringe and aghast horror that people immediately think of when seeing those enormous gouges in his cheeks and under his eye sockets. It makes them wonder what happened- did he have an accident? No, they seem like something intentional, like someone wanted to make sure no one ever saw him without reeling in disgust. Whether it was deserved or not, it certainly made him unapproachable.

 

It’s funny though, that they could bear it all behind closed doors. Shuichi doesn’t have to hide his feathers and Kokichi can take his mask off. Still, it’s only a single layer of the many layers that make up both of them. They are strangers but also companions, who know each other better than anyone else but who know the bare minimum to keep whatever this fucking thing is. 

 

Shuichi wonders if there could have ever been anything substantial between them, perhaps if the world was not so dark and cruel.

 

He wouldn’t mind it if they became something more.

  
  
Then again he knows that’s a silly thought, this world did not allow for things like love or even hate- those things would get you killed.

  
  
Kokichi eyes are still on him, and he knows that it’s hard to keep to their guidelines, but they must if they ever intend to keep alive and well.   


  
Shuichi coughs awkwardly, looking away in hopes that the other male gets the cue. 

  
  
It works like a charm, and Kokichi turns his back to him once more. He takes the mask with a smile on it and latches on the three belts that hold it on his face. He makes sure to cover his ears and fix his hair, so he doesn’t look like he just walked out of the brothel. The salve is easily forgotten, lazily tossed into his bag without any more thought. He sits back down on the bed, which barely dips since the guy has been skipping meals to save money, toeing into his boots that are just a touch too small for him.

 

Shuichi hates when Kokichi leaves. Hates that he never asks for anything more than sex. Hates that they sometimes hold each other when their afflictions grow too strong and they can barely think straight.

 

Kokichi leaves without another word and slams the door behind him. 

  
  
Shuichi looks at the emeralds in his hands, sees how they gleam in the morning light.  _Seven emeralds, huh?_

  
  
He crushes them in his hands and watches as two of them crumble into dust. Still, though, there are five  _ real  _ emeralds left in his hand, that’s the most he’s ever gotten from him in a trade. Typical Kokichi, he was a swindler after all, and it was much too integral to his character to ever let go. Same with the lies. 

 

He knew he couldn’t categorize this as love or hate or any type of normal relationship, but he couldn’t help but find it beautiful. Everything about him was, really. Kokichi Ouma was a beautiful person, and he was at least thankful that he could have him, even if that was in the lightest sense of the word.

  
  
Shuichi laughs and lets the dust slip through his fingers, keeping the jewels close to his heart.

 

_ Everything was beautiful. _

**Author's Note:**

> Again, sorry for not editing this. I hope y'all enjoyed it. Oumasai week is a blessing yalllllllll
> 
> (Comments and Kudos fuel me friends, so leave some if you want me to continue pushing on through Oumasai week!)


End file.
